Combination pallet and box assembly

ABSTRACT

A pallet is formed of runners having a generally U-shaped cross section and a plurality of floor members which are interlocked to one another and connected to said runners. The runners and floor members are arranged so that side panels and panel corner locking members can conveniently be attached thereto as accessories to form a storage box of variable height.

United States Patent [72] Inventors El Cajon;

Calif. [21] Appl. No. 787,114 [22] Filed Dec. 26, 1968 [45] PatentedAug. 17, 1971 [73] Assignee Rohr Corporation Chula Vista, Calif.

3 Claims, 10 Drawing Figs.

[52] US. Cl

[51] Int. Cl

[50] Field oi Search Robert T. Morris 7 Jack M. Palmer, El Cajon; GeorgeF. Riley,

Chula Vista; Derek F. Smith, Bonita, all oi,

COMBINATION PALLET AND BOX ASSEMBLY 13,599 [56] References Cited UNITEDSTATES PATENTS 1,755,725 4/1930 Clark 220/4 2,640,669 6/1953 Ashford..108/56 3,029,052 4/1962 Early 108/57 2,692,107 10/1954 Riddcr 108/513,172,374 3/1965 Allen 108/53 X Primary ExaminerC|eorge E. LowranceAttorney-George E. Pearson ABSTRACT: A pallet is formed of runnershaving a generally 220/4 R, U-shaped cross section and a pluralityoffloor members which 108/56 are interlocked to one another andconnected to said runners. B65121 7/32, The runners and floor membersare arranged so that side 365d 19/12 panels and panel corner lockingmembers can conveniently be 220/4, 4 R; attached thereto as accessoriesto form a storage box of varia- 108/51, 53, 55, 56, 57 ble height.

l 1 i 1 L90 74 I 11 l l l l 90 I 1 76B I l *1 l w 1 l 1 g 74 1 i l I 76l F A PATENTED AUG] 1 I97! 3, 599,823 SHEET 2 OF 5 INVENTORS ROBERT T.MORRIS JACK M. PALMER GEORGE F. RILEY DEREK |!H ATTORNEY F. SM

. ww gm \Ab: 5

PATENTED m I 71911 3,699,823 sum 3 or 5 FIG. 4.

INVENTORS ROBERT T. MORRIS BY JACK M. PALMER GEORGE F. RILEY DEREK E SWH ATTO'RNEY COMBDIATION PALLET AND BOX ASSEMBLY BACKGROUND OF THEINVENTION This invention relates to a pallet for transporting materialsand more particularly to an arrangement of interlocking components bymeans of which pallets and storage boxes of any desired size can readilybe constructed.

To provide for the conveyance and storage of product components, manycompanies require large numbers of pallets and containers. Suchequipment is generally designed on an individual basis and thuscomprises components unadaptable for use in constructing pallets andcontainers of different size and service. Furthermore, conventionalpallets and storage boxes are often constructed so that they have a lowstrength-toweight ratio and quickly lose their rigidity when subjectedto hard use. Some pallets and storage boxes are also difficult to cleanand hence are unacceptable for use in the conveyance and storage ofcertain materials.

Among the advantages of the invention disclosed herein is that itprovides a durable, lightweight pallet which can be used for manydifferent purposes. The invention also provides a pallet which canquickly be converted to a container by the attachment of side panels andpanel-locking members to the sides thereof. In addition, pallets andstorage boxes constructed in accordance with this invention are readilycleaned and have an open construction which makes them particularly wellsuited for use in degreasing operations.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Briefly stated, a pallet constructed inaccordance with the principles of the present invention comprises atleast two and preferably three runners which have a generally U-shapedcross section, a starting floor member extending across said runners atone end thereof, a closing floor member extending across said runners atthe other end thereof, and a plurality of middle floor members alsoextending across said runners and disposed in abutting, parallelrelation between said starting and closing floor members. The sides ofthe pallet are preferably arranged so that the lower edges of sidepanels can conveniently be attached thereto, and panel corner lockingmembers are provided to secure adjacent corners of said side panelstogether. The preferred embodiment of the invention incorporates lipswhich extend above the floor of the pallet and around the peripherythereof, which lips are integral parts of the aforesaid runners andstarting and closing floor members. Brace clips are preferably fixedlyconnected to at least some of the floor members and respectivelyinterlocked with the lips on the runners and floor members. Each floormember also preferably includes a brace which depends from the floorpanel thereof and abuts the upper edges of the runners. Both the sidepanels and the panel corner locking members are constructed so thatadditional panels can be attached to those interlocked with the pallet,without the use of fasteners such as bolts and nuts.

OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, it is a broad object of thisinvention to provide an improved pallet.

Another object of the invention is to provide a combination pallet andstorage box assembly.

An additional object of the invention is to provide a pallet thecomponents of which are interlocked in such manner that the pallet canwithstand rough handling without losing its rigidity.

Still another object is to provide a combination pallet and box assemblywhich can easily be cleaned and which is particularly advantageous foruse in degreasing objects without removing them from the box. 7

A further object is to provide a pallet having a high strengthto-weightratio.

Another object is to provide a pallet box assembly which can move on aroller conveyor with the runners thereof either perpendicular orparallel to the rollers of said conveyor.

Yet another object is to provide a container with removable sides andends so as to facilitate the loading of objects in, or the removal ofobjects from, the container.

Another object is to provide components which can quickly be assembledto form pallets and containers of many different sizes and shapes.

Another object is to provide a pallet with a lip extending around itsperimeter to retain objects thereon, without restricting entry of forklift tines on the top of the pallet.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS In the accompanying drawings:

FIG. 1 is a plan view illustrating a pallet which constitutes apreferred embodiment of this invention;

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary longitudinal section of the same pallet, takenalong the plane represented by the line designated 2-2 in FIG. 1 and inthe direction indicated on said drawing;

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary longitudinal section of the same pallet, takenalong the plane represented by the line designated 3-3 in FIG. 1 and inthe direction indicated on said drawing;

FIG. 4 is a pictorial, fragmentary view of the lower left-hand comer ofthe pallet illustrated in FIG. 1, the drawing showing the lower portionsof two of four side panels which can be attached to sides of said palletbut which are not shown in FIG. 1 for the sake of clarity;

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of the aforesaid pallet, taken alongthe plane represented by the line designated 5-5 in FIG. 1 and in thedirection indicated on said drawing;

FIG. 6 is a pictorial, fragmentary view of the upper portion of two ofthe aforesaid four side panels which can be attached to the sides of thepallet, the view illustrating the inner surfaces of the two side panelswhich would be respectively attached to the uppermost and left-handsides of the pallet as it is viewed in FIG. 1;

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional, fragmentary view of the side panelsillustrated in FIG. 6, taken along the plane represented by the linedesignated 7-7 in the latter drawing and in the direction indicatedtherein;

FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional, fragmentary view illustrating typicalauxiliary panel sections which can be locked to any of the aforesaidside panels;

FIG. 9 is a plan view of a component which is employed to lock thecorners of the aforesaid side panels and auxiliary panel sectionstogether; and

FIG. 10 is a sectional, fragmentary view of the locking component shownin FIG. 9, taken along the plane represented by the line designated10-10 in the latter drawing and in the direction indicated therein.

Throughout the drawings and the following specification like numbersdesignate like parts.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION As illustrated in FIG. 1, a pallet constructed inaccordance with the principles of this invention comprises a pluralityof elongate floor members 48, 10A, 10B disposed in abutting, parallelrelation so that they provide a continuous support surface formaterials. All floor members extend across three runners 12A, 12B, 14which are disposed in spaced, parallel relation to one another and whichare illustrated in phantom in FIG. 1. Illustrated in cross section inFIG. 2 is a typical one of the pair of runners 12A, 128 which arerespectively disposed at the ends of the pallet, and illustrated incross section in FIG. 3 is the support 14 which is disposed at thecenter of the pallet. More particularly, each runner 12A, 128 comprisesa channel 16 the base of which rests on a supporting surface when thepallet carries a load and the sidewalls 18A, 18B of which projectupwardly therefrom. Support flanges 20A, 208 project laterally fromsidewalls 18A, 188 respectively and extend longitudinally thereof, andthe outer sidewall 18A of each channel 16 of the two runners 12A, 12Bcomprises an upper portion 22 which projects upwardly from the supportflange 20A of said outer sidewall. For a purpose which will becomeapparent hereinafter, the inner surface of each of the aforesaid upperportions 22 is formed with projections which define a pair of slots 23A,2313 in said inner surface, and the outer surface of each of said upperportions is also formed with a projection which defines a slot 23Ctherein. The outer surface of the inner sidewall 18B of each channel 16defines a slot 24 which extends longitudinally of said wall and whichhas a constricted throat, and each support 12A, 123 comprises anauxiliary base member 25 which includes a base panel one longitudinaledge of which is formed with a locking lug 26 slidably disposed in saidslot 24, a vertically disposed sidewall 28 joined at the lower edgethereof to the other longitudinal edge of said base panel, and a flange30 joined at one longitudinal edge thereof to the upper longitudinaledge of said sidewall 28, said flange 30 and support flanges 20A, 203being connected by means of rivets 32 to structural members which willbe described hereinafter. Runner 14 likewise comprises a channel 34 (SeeFIG. 3) the base of which is coplanar with the bases of runners 12A, 12Band the sidewalls 36A, 36B of which are connected by means of flanges38A, 38B and rivets 32 to the same structural members to which saidflanges 20A, 20B and 30 are connected, as well as an auxiliary basemember 40 which is joined to said structural members and channel 34respectively by a flange 38C and locking lug 42 arranged in the samemanner as the flange 30 and locking lug 26 described in the foregoingdiscussion of the structure of runners 12A, 128. The sidewalls and basepanels of the two channels 16, channel 34, and auxiliary base members25, 40 are formed with series of evenly spaced apertures 44, 46respectively (See FIGS. 2, 3 and 4).

Illustrated in cross section in FIG. and shown in plan view in FIG. 1 isa starting floor member 48 which extends across runners 12A, 12B, 14 atone end thereof. More particularly, starting floor member 48 issupported on support flanges 20, 30 and 38 fixedly connected thereto byrivets 32. For a purpose which will become apparent hereinafter, theouter surface of starting floor member 48 defines a slot 49 and theinner surface thereof defines a slot 50, both of said slots extendinglongitudinally of said starting floor member and having constrictedthroats. FIG. 5 shows in cross section two floor members A which membersare typical of a plurality of identical middle floor members employed inthe construction of the pallet. The same drawing also shows in crosssection a closing floor member 10B one side of which extendstransversely across the ends of runners 12A, 12B, 14. It will be notedthat each of the floor members 10A, 108 comprises a connecting flange 52supported on and fixedly connected to support flanges 20, 30 and 38 bymeans of rivets 32, a support wall 54 joined at its lower longitudinaledge to a longitudinal edge of said connecting flange and projectingupwardly therefrom, and a perforated and corrugated floor panel 56 whichis disposed substantially parallel to the bases of supports 12 and 14and joined at one longitudinal edge thereof to the upper longitudinaledge of said support wall 54. A brace 58 depends from said floor panel56 and abuts said support flanges 20,30 and 38, and a locking lug 60 isjoined to and extending lengthwise of the other longitudinal edge ofsaid floor panel. The locking lug 60 of the middle floor member 10Awhich is disposed adjacent starting floor member 48 conformably fitswithin the slot 50 on the inner side of the latter, and the locking lugof each of the other floor members 10A, 10B conformably fits with a slot62 formed in the support wall 54 of the floor member adjacent thereto.Thus starting floor member 48 and floor members 10A, 10B are interlockedto one another and fixedly connected to runners 12A, 12B, 14. It willalso be observed that closing floor member 108 differs from the middlefloor members 10A with respect to the arrangement of its support wall54, the outer surface of support wall 54 defining a longitudinallyextending slot 64 and said support wall comprising an upper portion 66which has the same shape as the upper portion of starting floor member48.

The preferred form of the disclosed pallet assembly comprises aplurality of brace clips which are generally designated by the number 68in FIGS. 1, 2 and 4. Each brace clip 68 is generally Y-shaped incross-sectional configuration, with two arms 69, 70 thereof beingrespectively disposed in slots 23A, 238 in the upper portion 22 of theouter sidewall of a respective one of the channels 16, and with thethird arm 72 thereof being fixedly connected by means of a rivet 32 to afloor panel 56 ofa respective one ofthe floor members 10A, 10B. Arm 69of each brace clip 63 interlocks with slot 23A so that the brace clipscannot be moved laterally of the upper portion 22 of runners 12A, 12B.

Illustrated in cross section in FIG. 7 is a side panel 74 which isattached to starting floor member 48, a portion of another side panel 74of identical design also being shown in side elevation in the samedrawing and the upper portions of the same panels being illustrated inperspective in FIG. 6. The lower portions of two other side panels 74are also shown in FIG. 4. Each of the four side panels 74 which can beattached to respective sides of the above-described pallet of formed oftwo sections 76A, 76B which are locked together along longitudinal edgesby means of a locking lug 78 formed on one of said sections and adaptedto conformably fit within a slot 80 formed in the other of saidsections. Both sections 76A, 76B are provided with longitudinallyextending corrugations which contain perforations 82. Extendinglongitudinally of each side panel adjacent the lower edge thereof is ahook-shaped projection 84 which, in the case of the side panel shown incross section in FIG. 7, is disposed within slot 49 of starting floormember 48. The projection 84 of another of the side panels 74 isdisposed within slot 64 in closing floor member 10B and the projection84 of each of the two side panels is disposed within slot 23C in theouter sidewall of a respective one of runners 12A, 123. As illustratedin FIGS. 6 and 9, a series of linearly aligned slots 86 are formed inthe inwardly facing ridges of the corrugations of each side panel 74,one series of said slots being disposed adjacent each end of the panelin parallel relation therewith. FIG. 9 also shows the cross-sectionalconfiguration of a typical one of four panel corner locking members 88which are provided to lock the corners of the four side panels 74together. More particularly, each locking member 88 comprises fourlongitudinally extending arms 90A-90D which project from a tubularcentral portion 92, each of said arms being formed with an integralflange which projects laterally from the outer longitudinal edgethereof. The flanges of arms 90C, 90D of each locking member arepositioned in the slots 86 of adjacent ends ofa respective pair of sidepanels 74, and the flanges of arms 90A, 90B abut the outer surfaces ofthe same panels. Furthermore, each ofthe arms 90C, 90D is formed with adimple 94 which tightly fits within one of the slots 86 and thus tendsto maintain the locking member in the illustrated position thereof.

Illustrated in cross section in FIGS. 7 and 8 and shown in fragmentaryview in FIG. 6 is a locking lug 96 which extends lengthwise of the uppersurface of each side panel 74 and is integrally joined thereto. FIG. 8also illustrates in cross section an auxiliary panel section 98 which isformed of two interlocked sections 100A, 100B, the lower section 100Ahaving at its lower edge a projection 102 which defines a slot in whichlocking lug 96 of side panel 74 is engaged. The end portion of anotherauxiliary panel section 98 is shown in side elevation in the samedrawing, as well as an auxiliary panel corner locking member 104 whichhas a cross-sectional configuration identical to that of locking members88 and which locks together the adjacent ends of panel sections 98 inthe same manner as previously described in connection with said lockingmembers 88. Each of the four pairs of locking members 88 and 104 isinterlocked by means of a locking pin 106 the ends of which slidably fitwithin the tubular portions 92 and 107 of said members (FIG. 10 showsdetails of a typical one of said pins). It will be understood that inorder to increase the height of the sides of the container fourauxiliary panel sections 98 are respectively attached as described tofour side panels 74, and four locking members 104 are connected to fourlocking members 88.

The upper portion of starting floor member 48 and the upper portion 66of the outer sidewall of the closing floor member 108 have two slots 110therein (only one of these slots being shown in each of FIGS. 2 and 4),these slots being spaced apart so that the tines of a forklift can beinserted through said slots and moved across floor members (whichoperation can of course be carried out only when there are no sidepanels attached to the pallet).

In the preferred embodiment of the invention which has been described,runners 12A, 12B, 14 are formed of a relatively hard aluminum alloy,such as 6061T6, and the other components of the pallet and box assemblyare formed of a softer aluminum alloy.

It will be readily understood that runners 12A, 12B, 14 can convenientlyby assembled by cutting sections of channels 16, 34 and auxiliary basemembers and to a desired length and then sliding the lugs 24, 42 of therespective base members into the slots formed in the lower edge of thesidewalls 18, 36 of said channels. Similarly, floor members 10B and 48and a required number of middle floor members 10A are cut in sections ofa desired length, the number of middle floor members being selected sothat the combined width of the latter and floor members 10B and 48, whendisposed in side-by-side relation, is substantially equal to the lengthof runners 12A,

12B, 14. A selected number of brace clips 68 are next positioned on eachof the runners 12A, 128 by snapping the ends of the arms 69 and 70 ofthe brace clips into slots 23A, 23B of the upper portion 22 of saidrunners, the brace clips being spaced along the supports as points wherethey will be located when subsequently attached to selected ones of thefloor members 10, After runners 12A, 12B, 14 have been disposed inspaced, parallel relation as illustrated in FIG. 1, starting floormember 48 is positioned across the ends of the runners and fastened tothe flanges 20, 30, 38 thereof by means of rivets 32. The locking lug 60ofa middle floor member 10A is then engaged within the slot 50 of floormember 48 by positioning said lug in said slot, and the opposite side ofthe middle floor member is then fastened by rivets 32 to the aforesaidflanges 20, 30, 38 in coextensive relation with said floor member 48.The locking lug of a second middle floor member 10A is next inserted inthe slot 62 in the support wall 54 of the middle floor member firstattached to runners 12A, 12B, 14 and the other side of the second floormember is secured to said flanges 20, 30, 38 by rivets. The other middlefloor members and closing floor member 108 are attached to the runnersin the same manner. However, it should be noted here that apertures 112(one of which is shown in FIG. 5) are spaced along the floor panel 56 ofclosing floor member 108 adjacent the upper wall portion 66 thereof,thereby permitting access through said floor panel to the points whererivets 32 are positioned to fasten this floor member to runners 12A,12B, 14. To complete the pallet, the arms 72 of the brace clips 68engaged with the upper wall portion 22 of the runners 12A, 12B areriveted to the floor panels 56 of selected ones of the floor members 10.

From the foregoing description of side panels 74, it will be recognizedthat four of the side panels 74 can be respectively locked on the foursides of the disclosed pallet by engaging the lug 84 of each panel withone of the slots 49, 64, or 23C of floor members 108 and 48 and channels12, respectively, and by locking the corners of said side panelstogether by sliding the flanges 90C, 90D of four locking members 88 intoslots 86 in respective panels. Auxiliary side panels 98 may of course beattached to side panels 74 in similar manner.

One of the advantages of the invention disclosed herein is that itprovides a lightweight pallet which, through an unique arrangement ofinterlocking components, is able to withstand intense vibration andshock without loss of rigidity. Furthermore, a pallet constructed inaccordance with the concepts of the invention requires a relativelysmall number of components of different structure, which components canconveniently be cut to different lengths to form pallets of any desiredlength and width. Assembly of the described components is also rapid anddoes not require welding or other skilled work. The construction of thedisclosed pallet is such that forklifts can be used to lift the palletby placing the tines thereof between the runners 12A, 12B, 14. Also therunners of one of the pallets can be nested within the upper portion ofthe sidewalls of another pallet, thereby enabling a number of thepallets to be stored in a stable vertical stack. The invention alsoprovides a pallet which can quickly be converted to a storage box, whichbox can in turn readily be disassembled, an advantage of considerableimportance in factories which are short of storage space. The openstructure of the disclosed pallet and box assembly also makes the latterparticularly advantageous for use in degreasing operations, whereinunrestricted drainage of solvent from parts and the containers in whichthey are held is important to avoid waste of solvent. Since runners 12A,12B, 14 are very wide, the pallet or box assembly can be moved along aconventional roller conveyor with said runners disposed parallel to therollers of the conveyor.

It will be obvious that within the scope of the invention certainmodifications can be made in the preferred embodiment of the inventiondescribed and illustrated herein. For example, in some cases there willbe no necessity for attaching auxiliary base members 25, 40 to channels16 and 34. Also brace 58 can be eliminated in other embodiments of theinvention. Hence the scope of the invention should be considered asbeing limited only by the terms of the claims appended hereto.

What I desire to be protected by Letters Patent is:

l. A pallet assembly comprising:

at least two channels disposed in spaced parallel relation,

the ends of said channels being substantially coextensive and the basesof said channels resting on a supporting surface when said palletcarries a load, each upwardly projecting sidewall of said channelshaving a support flange joined thereto, said support flanges extendinglongitudinally of said sidewalls and being disposed substantiallyparallel to the bases of said channels;

an elongate starting floor member extending across said channels at oneend thereof, said starting floor member being supported on and fixedlyconnected to said support flanges and projecting upwardly therefrom, theinner surface of said starting floor member having formed therein alongitudinally extending slot with a constricted throat; and

a plurality of elongate floor members supported on and extending acrossthe sidewalls of said channels in abutting, parallel relation, each ofsaid floor members comprising a connecting flange supported on andfixedly connected to said support flanges, a support wall joined at itslower longitudinal edge to a longitudinal edge of said connecting flangeand projecting upwardly therefrom, a floor panel disposed substantiallyparallel to the bases of said channels and joined at one longitudinaledge thereof to the upper longitudinal edge of said support wall, and alocking lug joined to and extending lengthwise of the other longitudinaledge of said floor panel, the surface of said support wall remote fromsaid locking lug having formed therein a longitudinally extending slotwith a constricted throat, the locking lug of the floor member disposedadjacent said starting floor member fitting within the slot formed inthe latter and the locking lug of each of the other floor membersconformably fitting within the slot formed in the floor member adjacentthereto;

wherein a longitudinally extending slot is formed in the outer surfaceof each of said channels, in the outer surface of said starting floormember, and in the outer surface of the floor member most remote fromsaid starting floor member, and including four vertically disposed sidepanels each substantially coextensive with a respective one of the sidesof the pallet formed by said channels and floor members and abutting atits lower edge a respective one of the outer surfaces of said channels,starting floor member and remote floor member, and each having joinedthereto a longitudinally extending locking lug disposed within the slotin the aforesaid abutting outer surface, and including locking means forlocking together adjacent ends of said side panels.

2. The pallet assembly defined in claim 1 wherein each of said sidepanels is formed with longitudinally extending corrugations and aplurality of linearly aligned slots are formed in the inwardly facingridges of said corrugations, one series of said slots being disposedadjacent each end of each of said panels in parallel relation therewith,and wherein each of said locking means is an elongate member comprisingfour longitudinally extending arms which are generally X-shaped incrosssectional configuration and each of which is formed with anintegral flange which projects laterally from the outer longitudinaledge thereof, one of said elongate members being disposed at each cornerof the box formed by said side panels with two of its flangesrespectively disposed in the two series of slots in the ends of adjacentpanels and with the other two of its flanges abuttingly disposed againstthe outwardly facing surfaces of the corrugations of the ends of thesame adjacent panels.

3. The pallet assembly defined in claim 1 wherein each of said sidepanels has a locking lug extending longitudinally of the upper edgethereof, and including four vertically disposed auxiliary side panelseach of which is disposed above and substantially coextensive with arespective one of said side panels and each having at the lower edgethereof a slot in which the locking lug of the associated side panel isengaged, and auxiliary locking means for locking together adjacent endsof said auxiliary side panels, said auxiliary locking means beingrespectively connected to said locking means which lock together thecorners of said side panels.

1. A pallet assembly comprising: at least two channels disposed inspaced parallel relation, the ends of said channels being substantiallycoextensive and the bases of said channels resting on a supportingsurface when said pallet carries a load, each upwardly projectingsidewall of said channels having a support flange joined thereto, saidsupport flanges extending longitudinally of said sidewalls and beingdisposed substantially parallel to the bases of said channels; anelongate starting floor member extending across said channels at one endthereof, said starting floor member being supported on and fixedlyconnected to said support flanges and projecting upwardly therefrom, theinner surface of said starting floor member having formed therein alongitudinally extending slot with a constricted throat; and a pluralityof elongate floor members supported on and extending across thesidewalls of said channels in abutting, parallel relation, each of saidfloor members comprising a connecting flange supported on and fixedlyconnected to said support flanges, a support wall joined at its lowerlongitudinal edge to a longitudinal edge of said connecting flange andprojecting upwardly therefrom, a floor panel disposed substantiallyparallel to the bases of said channels and joined at one longitudinaledge thereof to the upper longitudinal edge of said support wall, and alocking lug joined to and extending lengthwise of the other longitudinaledge of said floor panel, the surface of said support wall remote fromsaid locking lug having formed therein a longitudinally extending slotwith a constricted throat, the locking lug of the floor member disposedadjacent said starting floor member fitting within the slot formed inthe latter and the locking lug of each of the other floor membersconformably fitting within the slot formed in the floor member adjacentthereto; wherein a longitudinally extending slot is formed in the outersurface of each of said channels, in the outer surface of said startingfloor member, and in the outer surface of the floor member most remotefrom said starting floor member, and including four vertically disposedside panels each substantially coextensive with a respective one of thesides of the pallet formed by said channels and floor members andabutting at its lower edge a respective one of the outer surfaces ofsaid channels, starting floor member and remote floor member, and eachhaving joined thereto a longitudinally extending locking lug disposedwithin the slot in the aforesaid abutting outer surface, and includinglocking means for locking together adjacent ends of said side panels. 2.The pallet assembly defined in claim 1 wherein each of said side panelsis formed with longitudinally extending corrugations and a plurality oflinearly aligned slots are formed in the inwardly facing ridges of saidcorrugations, one series of said slots being disposed adjacent each endof each of said panels in parallel relation therewith, and wherein eachof said locking means is an elongate member comprising fourlongitudinally extending arms which are generally X-shaped incross-sectional configuration and each of which is formed with anintegral flange which projects laterally from the outer longitudinaledge thereof, one of said elongate members being disposed at each cornerof the box formed by said side panels with two of its flangesrespectively disposed in the two series of slots in the ends of adjacentpanels and with the other two of its flanges abuttingly disposed againstthe outwardly facing surfaces of the corrugations of the ends of thesame adjacent panels.
 3. The pallet assembly defined in claim 1 whereineach of said side panels has a locking lug extending longitudinally ofthe upper edge thereof, and including four vertically disposed auxiliaryside panels each of which is disposed above and substantiallycoextensive with a respective one of said side panels and each having atthe lower edge thereof a slot in which the locking lug of the associatedside panel is engaged, and auxiliary locking means for locking togetheradjacent ends of said auxiliary side panels, said auxiliary lockingmeans being respectively connected to said locking means which locktogether the corners of said side panels.